The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and two individual plaintiffs are suing the Trump administration, claiming the White House violated federal disability law by quietly ending American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation during presidential press briefings.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the removal of ASL interpreters in January 2025 denies Deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans equal access to public information in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
ASL interpretation had been included in White House briefings since a 2020 court order during President Trump’s first term. The Biden administration continued the practice, but the second Trump administration discontinued it without public explanation earlier this year.
In May, NAD filed a statement about the lawsuit and their action to push for accessibility for all to public discourse.
“Deaf and hard of hearing Americans have the right to the same access to White House information as everyone else. Denying them ASL interpreters is a direct violation of that right, and the NAD will continue to fight for their full inclusion in the democratic process,” said Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins, Interim CEO of the NAD. “Such information must be provided not only through captioning but also in American Sign Language.”
The suit asks the court to reinstate ASL interpretation at all White House briefings and require that interpreters be visibly displayed in any video feeds broadcast or streamed to the public.
The case comes as the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law passed in 1990, approaches its 35th anniversary later this month. Advocates say the timing underscores persistent gaps in access despite decades of legal protections.
The White House has had no response to this lawsuit as of yet.
